Just ask George McDonald, who runs a not-for-profit agency for homeless men, The Doe Fund, where he earned $403,000 a year.

And McDonald shares the wealth.

His wife, Harriet Karr McDonald, earns $206,522 a year from the charity as chief development officer, and his son, John McDonald, earns $187,379 as chief financial officer, according to 2007 IRS filings, the latest on record.

A salary of $400,000 a year is rare among local agencies fighting poverty, said Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy.

“Usually, groups that help the poor and needy aren’t going to pay such large salaries,” said Borochoff. “Charities have to be careful because donors want to see that their money is going to help the poor and needy, rather than the executives.”

And Borochoff questioned the business practice of naming the son of the organization’s president chief financial officer, a role intended to provide fiscal oversight of the agency and executives.

Peter Resnick, chairman of the Doe Fund’s board of directors, defended the salaries.

“The Doe Fund’s executive compensation packages were determined by the board after extensive consultation with nonprofit-organization compensation experts, and they reflect the founders’ unique skill set in creating and sustaining the Doe Fund,” Resnick wrote in a letter to The Post. He said McDonald took a 5 percent pay cut in 2009, to $377,500.

McDonald bristled when he was asked about his salary while standing outside his East Side home, which also serves as the headquarters for the Doe Fund. The group paid McDonald $147,000 in rent in 2006, according to IRS records.